- Armistice Day Blizzard
Infobox winter storm|name=Armistice Day Blizzard
image location=19401111.jpg
stormtype=Cyclonic blizzard,Panhandle Hook
date formed=10 November ,1940
date dissipated=12 November ,1940
maximum amount=27 inches (68.6 cm) (Collegeville, MN )
pressure=971 mbar (hPa) (atDuluth, MN )cite web| last = Williams| first = Jack| title = History, past weather events| publisher =USA Today | date = 2001-11-28| url = http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/answers-library-history.htm| accessdate = 2006-12-21]
total damages (USD)= $2 million (1940) [cite web| title = Minnesota History: A Chronology| publisher = Minnesota State University Mankato| url = http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/mnstatehistory/timeline.html| accessdate = 2006-12-21 ] cite web| last = Seely| first = Mark| title = Remembering the Armistice Day Blizzard of 1940| publisher = Minnesota Climatology Office| date = 2000-11-10| url = http://climate.umn.edu/cawap/mpr/001110.txt| accessdate = 2006-12-21 ]
total fatalities=154
areas affected= TheMidwest United States The Armistice Day Blizzard (or the Armistice Day Storm) took place in theMidwest region of theUnited States on11 November (Armistice Day ) and12 November ,1940 . The intense early-season "Panhandle hook "winter storm cut a 1,000-mile-wide (1600 km) path through the middle of the country fromKansas toMichigan .The storm
The morning of
11 November ,1940 brought with it unseasonably high temperatures. By early afternoon temperatures had warmed in lower to middle 60s oF (18oC) over most of the affected region. However, as the day wore on conditions quickly deteriorated. Temperatures dropped sharply,wind s picked up, andrain , followed bysleet , and thensnow began to fall. An intense low pressure system had tracked from the southern plains northeastward into westernWisconsin , pullingGulf of Mexico moisture up from the south and pulling down a coldarctic air mass from the north.The result was a raging
blizzard that would last into the next day. Snowfalls of up to 27 inches (69 cm), winds of 50 to 80 mph (80–130 km/h), 20-foot (6.1 m)snow drift s, and 50-degree Fahrenheit (30 °C) temperature drops were common over parts of the states ofNebraska ,South Dakota ,Iowa ,Minnesota ,Wisconsin , and Michigan. In Minnesota, 27 inches (69 cm) of snow fell at Collegeville, and the Twin Cities recorded 16 inches (41 cm). Record low pressures were recorded inLa Crosse, Wisconsin andDuluth, Minnesota . Transportation and communications were crippled, which exacerbated finding the dead and injured. The Armistice Day Blizzard ranks #2 in Minnesota's list of top-5 weather events of the 20th century. [cite web| title = Significant Minnesota Weather Events of the 20th Century| publisher = Minnesota Climatology Office| date = 1999-12-16| url = http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/top5/top5.htm| accessdate = 2006-12-21]Casualties
A total of 154 deaths were blamed on the storm. Along the
Mississippi River several hundred duck hunters had taken time off from work and school to take advantage of the ideal hunting conditions. Weather forecasters had not predicted the severity of the oncoming storm, and as a result many of the hunters were not dressed for cold weather. When the storm began many hunters took shelter on small islands in the Mississippi River, and the 50 mph (80 km/h) winds and 5-foot (1.5 m) waves overcame their encampments. Some became stranded on the islands and then froze to death in the single-digit temperatures that moved in over night. Others tried to make it to shore and drowned. Duck hunters constituted about half of the 49 deaths in Minnesota. InWatkins, Minnesota , 2 people died when two trains collided in the blinding snow. InLake Michigan , 66 sailors died on three freighters, theSS Anna C. Minch , theSS Novadoc , and theSS William B. Davock , as well as two smaller boats that sank. 13 people died inIllinois , 13 in Wisconsin, and 4 in Michigan. [cite web| title = Biggest Snow Storms in the Unied States| publisher = NOAA| url = http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mkx/climate/big.php| accessdate = 2006-12-21]Aftermath
Prior to this event, all of the weather forecasts for the region originated in Chicago. After the failure to provide an accurate forecast for this blizzard, forecasting responsibilities were expanded to include 24-hour coverage and more forecasting offices were created, yielding more accurate local forecasts. [cite news| title = N.W. Storm Rages On| publisher = Minneapolis Star Tribune| date = 1940-11-12| url = http://www.startribune.com/blogs/oldnews/?p=10| accessdate = 2006-12-21]
ee also
*
Climate of Minnesota
=References=External links
* [http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/11/10_steilm_windsofhell Armistice Day Blizzard]
* [http://ww3.startribune.com/blogs/oldnews/archives/17 Yesterday's news: Storm paralyzes Minnesota]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.